Mozilla Tests Firefox, Thunderbird Updates

Mozilla Foundation developers on Thursday asked for volunteers to test a long-awaited part of the next editions of Firefox and Thunderbird, a software update mechanism that will eliminate the need to download large files to replace outdated versions of the browser and e-mail client.

An update tool would make it possible for Firefox and Thunderbird users to update their software -- apply security patches, for instance -- without having to download an entire new version and re-install the program.